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Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are a member of the onion family and one of the easiest plants to grow in a kitchen garden, or even spaced among your other plants for decorative effect. Their green, grasslike stems and pom-pom flowers are right at home in a springtime environment, and they produce deliciously pungent herbs all summer. Chives grow happily in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 8.

Time to Harvest

Chives are normally started indoors four to six weeks before the last frost. In warmer climates, you can sow seeds outdoors in springtime, though the results may not be as consistent as starting indoors. Chives produce edible stems all through the summer and into fall. Because stems are usually ready for harvest around the time of the first bloom in April, or when plants are 6 inches tall, chives usually take around three months to reach maturity.

Starting Indoors

Sowing chive seeds indoors is the easiest way to grow them from seed, and indoor propagation is advisable if you live in an area that has the slightest chance of a late cold snap. Sow the seeds about 1/2 inch down in a peat mix, and keep the mixture consistently moist but not wet. Soil temperature should approximate an indoor environment, between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. When ready, plant chive seedlings outside 6 to 12 inches apart in ground enriched with compost, not fertilizer.

Other Growing Methods

Chives self-seed if conditions are conducive and you do not trim the flower heads once they wither. If you want them to self-seed, simply leave the heads on until the seeds fall out; to prevent self-seeding, trim them off as soon as the blooms fade. You can also purchase rooted chives at a nursery.

Maintenance

Once chives are planted, they usually continue to grow year after year. If you keep your chives in the ground, the bunches should be separated and respaced every three or four years. Do this by gently digging up the plant, dividing the clumps into smaller clumps, and then replanting them 6 to 12 inches apart. Do this in springtime so that the clumps can then fill out, bloom and continue growing once more.